Written Answers Monday 21 November 2005

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults were recorded on ambulance service staff while on duty in each ambulance service area in each of the last five years and how many prosecutions resulted.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information asked for is not collected centrally in the form requested. There is data available on violence and aggression related incidents available on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, www.isdscotland.org/workforce .

  Section A gives details of the overall summary of workforce statistics in NHS Scotland. Table A8 has a breakdown of the number of occupational injuries by type of organisation and staff group which includes the number of incidents related to violence and aggression. Latest figures are at 31 March 2004.

  The Scottish Ambulance Service is currently reviewing its collection processes with a view to collect similar data to that of the fire service.

Audiology

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many audiology staff are currently employed in the NHS Argyll and Clyde area, broken down by location.

Lewis Macdonald: In 2001, the Scottish Executive published NHS Audiology Services in Scotland which provides a brief summary of the various professions and specialisms in the NHS who are involved in the care of people with hearing impairment, tinnitus or balance disorders. This includes audiologists and otologists (audiological medicine), hearing therapists, audiological scientists, educational audiologists, speech and language therapists, otologists, audiological physicians, paediatricians, clinical psychologists, vestibular scientists, counsellors, assistant technical officers, clerical and reception staff and registered hearing aid dispensers.

  Information on the numbers in audiological medicine, audiological scientists and medical technical officers currently employed in NHS Argyll and Clyde is shown in the table. Information on location is not available. The latest available data is at 31 March 2005.

  NHSScotland Workforce Statistics Audiology Staff in NHS Argyll and Clyde Headcount and WTE1 at 31 March 2005

  

 Total Audiology Staff
 Headcount
 Whole-Time Equivalent


 17
 14.7



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Note: 1. Whole-time equivalent adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff.

  Information on clerical and reception staff, clinical psychologists, speech and language therapists, counsellors and paediatricians has not been included as it cannot be broken down to exclude those not exclusively employed in audiology. Statistics for these groups are available on the ISD Scotland website.

  Data on hearing therapists, educational audiologists, vestibular scientists and registered hearing aid dispenser’s is not held centrally.

Care of Elderly People

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to open day centres for older people for the full week.

Lewis Macdonald: Provision of services, whether day centres or day opportunities that can meet a variety of needs, is a matter for individual local authorities. They have a duty under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, to assess the needs of individuals and arrange service provision to meet local needs and priorities.

Care of Elderly People

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to fully staff and equip day centres to meet the total needs of older frail people, especially those living alone.

Lewis Macdonald: Provision of services is a matter for individual local authorities. We are making provision for expenditure by local authorities on community care totalling £1.6 billion in 2005-06. It is their responsibility to decide how these very substantial resources should be deployed to best meet local needs and priorities.

  In addition, the Care Commission inspects day care services at least once a year, and the Regulation of Care (Requirements as to Care Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2002 require a care service provider to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent persons are working in the care service in such numbers as are appropriate for the health and welfare of service users.

  Better Outcomes for Older People (Bib. number 37677) urges local partnerships to review and develop more joint services including day opportunities to meet the increasing needs of older people.

Deaf and Hearing-Impaired People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what devices or procedures are routinely available to clinical staff to enable them to communicate effectively and in confidence with deaf or hearing-impaired patients.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for each NHS board to decide how best to apportion the resources available to it so as to best meet the needs of the whole of the population within its area of responsibility. Accordingly, information on the routine use of communications devices and procedures is not held centrally and further information should be sought from individual health boards.

Deaf and Hearing-Impaired People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is currently funding any project or research into devices or procedures which would enable clinical staff to communicate effectively and in confidence with deaf or hearing-impaired patients.

Lewis Macdonald: It is for each NHS board to decide how best to apportion the resources available to it so as to best meet the needs of the whole of the population within its area of responsibility. The Chief Scientist’s Office has confirmed that they are unaware of any research being funded in this specific area. No information on specific projects or research into such devices or procedures is held centrally and further information should be sought from individual health boards.

Deaf and Hearing-Impaired People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has investigated, or intends to investigate, the possibility of using voice recognition technology in clinical environments.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive Health Department is aware of voice recognition technology in the clinical setting, but has no current plans to instigate work in this area. There are isolated incidences in Scotland of its use in practice where staff in local board areas are able to obtain funding for such work. There may be opportunity to pursue the use of voice recognition technology at a later date.

Deaf and Hearing-Impaired People

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has identified problems where clinicians have difficulty in communicating effectively and confidentially with deaf or hearing-impaired patients.

Lewis Macdonald: Many individuals, including people with communication impairments, can require additional support in their dealings with health professionals. This was one of the reasons for establishing a strategic partnership between the Scottish Executive, the NHS and the Disability Rights Commission. This Fair for All - Disability  project aims to support the development of local NHS services that are responsive to the needs of all service users, including those with communications impairment.

  The Fair for All – Disability Project is currently consulting on draft guidance which contains advice on promoting effective communication and support for service users who, for example, are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have a learning disability or mental health problem.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have left the NHS to work in private practice in each year since 1997.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19898 by Lewis Macdonald on 2 November 2005, what the eight areas are which have been classed as designated for placing dentists recruited from overseas and whether any weighting has been used to identify areas of priority within the designated areas.

Lewis Macdonald: The eight areas in Scotland which are classed as designated for the purposes of recruitment and retentions allowances are Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Grampian, Highland, Orkney, Shetland and Westerns Isles NHS Board areas and within the area of Argyll and Clyde NHS Board, Campbeltown, Dunoon, Lochgilphead, Lochgoilhead, Oban, Rothesay, Tarbert, and the Isles of Mull, Iona, Colonsay, Tiree, Islay and Jura.

  The decision on where to place dentists recruited from overseas within individual NHS board areas rests with the relevant board.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the number of dental training places available is sufficient to satisfy the level of applications to dental schools.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is committed to ensuring a consistent supply of the best-quality dental graduates to deliver first-rate patient care.

  The number of applications to study dentistry in Scotland regularly exceeds the number of available places. The allocation of places to dental schools is intended to provide an output of dental graduates to meet the demands of the NHS. Allocation is not intended to match the number of applications, many of which do not satisfy grade requirements.

  The number of Scottish dental graduates is predicted to meet or exceed demand in Scotland from 2008.

Dentistry

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-2357 by Mr Tom McCabe on 17 September 2003, how many dental practices have now received "Golden Hello" payments, broken down by NHS board area.

Lewis Macdonald: Question S2W-2357, answered on 17 September 2003 referred to question S1W-26819, answered on 1 July 2002 which referred to the grants of up to £10,000 which are available as part of the "Golden Hello" package to dentists establishing new vocational training practices and offering a training place. The information requested is in the table:

  

 NHS Board Area
 Number of Practices Receiving Grant1


 Argyll and Clyde
 2


 Ayrshire and Arran
 1


 Borders
 0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2


 Fife
 1


 Forth valley
 4


 Grampian
 3


 Greater Glasgow
 8


 Highland
 1


 Lanarkshire
 3


 Lothian
 5


 Orkney
 0


 Shetland
 0


 Tayside
 6


 Western Isles
 0


 Scotland
 36



  Note: 1. Total claims to October 2005.

Education

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide planning advice to all local authorities on the provision of dedicated space in new-build schools for (a) registered day care services for children and (b) after-school clubs and whether the advice will be clearly defined and responsibilities identified.

Peter Peacock: It is appropriate, and consistent with their statutory responsibilities for the provision of schools, that local authorities should decide on what is to be included within the specification of a new school and whether facilities should be housed in dedicated or multi-use spaces.

Education

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish a detailed breakdown of how it plans to spend the £95 million for additional support needs, referred to by the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People on 3 November 2005 (Official Report c. 20273).

Robert Brown: The following table gives a breakdown of the £95 million allocated for additional support needs. This money has been announced previously.

  

 Funding
 Comments
2004-05(£ Million)
2005-06(£ Million)


 Additional Support for Learning Act, 2004
To support the education of pupils with additional support needs.Breakdown:04-05: £8m (LAs); £3m (Health); £1m (held centrally for Tribunals, code etc)05-06: £9.5 (LAs); £3m (Health); £1.5m (held centrally for code, training, Tribunals etc)
 12
 14


 Inclusion
 To support the inclusion of pupils in the widest sense – covers all pupils with additional support needs.
 25
 25


 Accessibility Strategies
 To improve physical accessibility and curricular accessibility for disabled pupils.
 17
 17


 In-Service Training
 For staff development for all staff (teachers, auxiliaries, and psychologists) working with pupils with additional support needs. Can also be used for multi-disciplinary training involving e.g. health service therapists.
 8.4
 8.4


 Discipline/behaviour, alternatives to exclusion
 Includes funding made available through the Discipline Task Group and to support initiatives relating to alternatives to exclusion.
 21
 21


 Supporting transition from school to post-school
Inclusiveness developments including Post-school Psychological Services Pathfinders for 16 to 24 year olds. Careers Scotland key worker support. Further Education inclusiveness developments and BRITE initiative. 
1.6755.82.0
1.8755.82.0


 
 Total
 92.88
 95.08

Education

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which parts of its budget it plans to spend the £95 million for additional support needs, referred to by the Deputy Minister for Education and Young People on 3 November 2005 ( Official Report c. 20273).

Robert Brown: The £95 million will be met from the Education and Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning budgets. The answer to question S2W-20527 on 21 November 2005 specifies how this money will be spent. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to fund the Study Support Programme and out of school hours learning in schools beyond 2006.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive invested £12 million for out of school hours learning this year.

  Funding for study support and out of school hours learning is currently made available to authorities through the National Priorities Action Fund (NPAF) and will continue to be made available as a component of the gross allocation of the NPAF for 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it accepts the recommendations of the SCRE Centre evaluation of the Study Support Programme and out of school hours learning (OSHL) in schools.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive was happy to accept the findings of the SCRE Evaluation of study support and out of school hours learning in Scotland. This showed that almost all secondary schools and over three-quarters of primary schools currently provide a range of study support/out of school hours learning activities.

  The SCRE evaluation recommended that the Executive support the development of SS/OSHL by offering more strategic direction, raising awareness of the impact OSHL can have on young people and school communities, promoting partnership working and continuing to support the dissemination of good practice.

  In response to this, officials have been working with the Scottish Study Support Network to develop new guidance for OSHL in Scotland. The document will outline the contribution OSHL can make towards the broader education agenda as well as offering good practice and self-evaluation guidance. An event is planned to launch the guidance document in spring 2006.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives and programmes are aimed at improving school discipline and pupil behaviour; how they are funded, and what the results have been of any evaluation of such initiatives and programmes.

Peter Peacock: In 2005-06 through the National Priorities Action Fund, the Scottish Executive is making available £11 million for Alternatives to Exclusion; £10 million for implementation of Better Behaviour – Better Learning; £25 million for Inclusion; £15,000 per authority for Staged Intervention. All of these strands of the National Priorities Action Fund may be used to support initiatives and programmes to improve pupil behaviour in schools.

  Additional funding has been provided for a number of initiatives such as:

  

 Initiative
 Funding Period
£ Awarded


 Restorative Practices
 2004-06
 135,000


 Being Cool in School Primary (2 stages)
 2003-04
 100,000


 Being Cool in School Secondary
 2003-04
 90,000


 SELF
 2004-07
 200,000


 Motivated Schools
 2003-04
 50,000


 Developing Empathy
 2004-05
 60,000


 Solution Oriented Schools
 2004-06
 118,080


 Inclusion Resource (Barnardo’s)
 2003-06
 138,018


 Inclusion Resource (East Renfrewshire)
 2004-05
 21,000



  The Restorative Practices pilots are being evaluated on an action research basis by a team from Edinburgh University and Glasgow University, and the evaluation of Staged Intervention is due to be published in January.

  Further information on these initiatives and other approaches which have been developed to improve school discipline can be found on the Scottish Executive’s Better Behaviour website www.betterbehaviourscotland.gov.uk.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what mechanisms are in place to enable local education authorities to assist head teachers to address issues in respect of pupil behaviour and attendance.

Peter Peacock: Scottish education authorities work with their schools to ensure their development plans reflect appropriate objectives for behaviour and attendance. Education authorities have local quality assurance and quality improvement officers to assist head teachers to review their practice on promoting positive behaviour in schools and to consider strategies to improve behaviour and attendance. In most areas, schools are also assisted by advisors within education authorities, including educational psychologists and specialists in behaviour support services.

  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education plays an advisory role for education authorities in ensuring improvement. The Scottish Executive supports sharing of good practice to enable education authorities and schools to consider the development of their local approaches to promoting positive behaviour and attendance, through the website www.betterbehaviourscotland.gov.uk, through reports such as the Connect Report (Scottish Executive Education Department 2004) and through local seminars and conferences.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the introduction of a national behaviour charter, including a statement on the legal responsibilities and rights of schools to discipline pupils.

Peter Peacock: The 2001 report of the Discipline Task Group, Better Behaviour - Better Learning,  provides a strong policy framework for school discipline, which ensures that education authorities and schools agree a local policy framework within which pupils, parents and staff are clear on their responsibilities and the rules of the school. Many education practitioners have shared the view that an on-going process of consultation and development between these parties is essential to a relevant and meaningful system of rules and rewards in schools, to which there is shared commitment.

  The Scottish Executive maintains a dialogue with key stakeholders on issues concerning school discipline. Stakeholders have agreed our current approach, to provide schools and authorities with a range of options to promote positive behaviour, and trust in their professionalism and judgment in tailoring these to suit their local circumstances.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it provides in respect of ways in which schools and local authorities might deploy funding for behavioural support and exclusions.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive’s 2001 report, Better Behaviour-Better Learning , sets out 36 recommendations for schools and authorities. These recommendations form the basis of the Scottish Executive’s funding to education authorities of £10 million per year for promoting positive behaviour.

  The Scottish Executive issued guidance in 2003 on exclusion from school, which identifies the provision that education authorities should make for pupils who are excluded from school. The Scottish Executive provides funding of £11 million per year for alternatives to exclusion.

  The full text of Better Behaviour – Better Learning can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/education/rdtg-00.asp.

  Guidance to education authorities on exclusion from school in Scotland can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/education/cefs-00.asp.

Education

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will identify and define information literacy as a core skill set within educational curricula distinct from ICT to encourage the development of information handling skills.

Peter Peacock: The curriculum is non-statutory. Responsibility for effective teaching rests with authorities and schools. A Curriculum for Excellence will provide a framework for young people’s learning which will enable them to develop as successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens, effective contributors who are confident in the handling of information. Information literacy is unlikely to be a discipline in its own right; however literacy and communication skills are important elements in the four capacities underpinning A Curriculum for Excellenc e.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is, and what guidance it issues, on home-school agreements and parenting contracts in relation to pupil behaviour.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive expects parents and schools to work in partnership to develop caring school communities with shared values and expectations, as described in recommendations 15 and 18 of Better Behaviour – Better Learning (2001). The Executive has also recommended that school policies on issues such as school uniform, attendance and behaviour should be developed in consultation with parents, in line with Executive and authority guidelines. The report of the National Review of Guidance has highlighted the role of schools and parents as partners, working in children and young people’s best interests.

  The Executive supports authorities to share and develop good practice in effective working with parents. Some authorities are introducing new approaches to signed agreements by parents regarding their child’s involvement in school in response to a statement of commitment by the school. Where such practice proves successful the Scottish Executive will assist in dissemination of the information to other education authorities and schools.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is, and what guidance it issues, on the use of learning support units in relation to promoting good behaviour.

Peter Peacock: In 2001 the Discipline Task Group report Better Behaviour – Better Learning recommended that secondary schools and designated primary schools should establish flexible support provision allowing children to receive support and learning outwith the normal classroom environment.

  In their 2005 report A Climate for Learning, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) noted that support bases had been developed in almost all secondary schools and in a number of primary schools. HMIE found many examples of good practice and described key factors for success for schools and authorities to follow.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the establishment of pupil parent support workers in schools, as advocated by Learning Behaviour: The Report of the Practitioners’ Group on School Behaviour and Discipline.

Peter Peacock: In Scotland, relationships between schools and parents are being enhanced through increased home-school link working, following recommendation 17 of Better Behaviour – Better Learning (2001) . The Scottish Executive has allocated £34.9 million to authorities for additional support staff in schools, including home-school link workers, to boost the development of this role within education authorities and schools.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which design features are supportive to good order and discipline within schools and whether it provides guidance on such matters to education authorities engaged in new school building programmes.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive works with education authorities and schools to tackle bullying and promote positive behaviour. We have published design guidance for authorities which highlights the importance of their considering, at an early stage in any design process, the need to engage in thorough consultations and to ensure that design proposals will indeed contribute to the provision of a safe and secure environment in all areas of the school.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal rights teachers have to discipline pupils, including rights to restrain pupils using reasonable force and rights to search for weapons without consent.

Peter Peacock: It has been well established in Scottish education legislation that education authorities and schools have a duty to ensure good discipline in schools, by making rules and applying sanctions if pupils or parents fail to comply with those rules, as follows:

  In the day-to-day conduct of every school under their management, an education authority shall ensure that care is taken to develop in pupils "reasonable and responsible social attitudes and relationships; consideration for others; good manners …"

  Regulation 11 of the Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975

  An education authority has the power to exclude a pupil from school if the parent of the pupil refuses or fails to comply, or to allow the pupil to comply, with the rules, regulations or disciplinary requirements of the school, or consider that to allow the pupil to continue attendance at the school would be likely to be seriously detrimental to order and discipline in the school:

  Regulation 4 of the Schools General (Scotland) Regulations 1975 (as amended by the Schools General (Scotland)(Amendment) Regulations 1982 and the Schools General (Scotland) Amendment (2) Regulations 1982.

  Education authorities have a duty to supply basic information to any parent, including school policy on discipline, school rules and enforcement of attendance:

  Education (School and Placing Information)(Scotland) Regulations 1982; Schedule 2

  The right to discipline pupils by corporal punishment was repealed in the Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000; but exclusion and other forms of sanctions are used daily within Scotland’s schools.

  Scottish Executive policy on discipline in schools makes it clear that schools and education authorities should develop a clear system of rules, sanctions and rewards in consultation with pupils and parents (Better Behaviour – Better Learning, 2001).

  Education authorities are recommended to have in place guidelines on levels of intervention, for example in relation to restraint (recommendation 11 of Better Behaviour – Better Learning). The handbook on child protection in education, Safe and Well (2005), reiterated the importance of ensuring good practice and of training for staff in safe techniques in settings where restraint may be necessary. Many education authorities use training programmes such as CALM or Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for their staff.

  Safe and Well also provides advice on how schools should respond if a child is found to be in possession of a weapon in school.

Employment

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to encourage more employers in both the public and private sectors to promote practices in respect of work-life balance that benefit working parents caring for young children.

Robert Brown: Employment is a reserved matter. However, the Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on work-life balance issues, including the recently introduced Work and Families Bill which will benefit working parents in Scotland.

Employment

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20023 by Robert Brown on 2 November 2005, whether the answer indicates that it has been involved in discussions with Her Majesty’s Government in respect of the Work and Families Bill introduced in the House of Commons on 18 October 2005 and, if so, what these discussions have involved.

Robert Brown: When I advised that the Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, I can confirm that this includes the Work and Families Bill.

Environment

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations are in place to ensure that industrial waste producers are required to recycle the waste that they produce.

Ross Finnie: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 place an obligation on producers and users of packaging to recover and recycle packaging waste commensurate with what they produce or use. The End-of-Life Vehicles (Producer Responsibility) Regulations 2005 place an obligation on manufacturers and professional importers of cars and light commercial vehicles to ensure that the vehicles which they place on the market are substantially recovered or recycled when they become waste. Prospective Regulations will place a similar obligation on producers of electrical and electronic equipment.

Equal Opportunities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to adopt the Race for Opportunity scheme, currently in place in England, which promotes ethnic diversity in the labour market.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive recognises the benefits to be derived from an ethnically and culturally diverse workforce, and is committed to becoming an exemplar employer whose staff is representative of Scotland’s population. We are due to publish our new Race Equality Scheme on 30 November, which will set out how we are meeting our duties to give due consideration to the promotion of race equality and elimination of discrimination, both as an employer and in relation to our functions and policies, under existing race relations legislation.

  In addition to its corporate responsibilities, the Scottish Executive is committed to tackling the current inequalities that exist for minority ethnic communities in the labour market in Scotland. The strategic group referred to in my answer to S2W-19178 on 20 September 2005, will be working with public and private sector employers, and it may wish to consider whether membership of the Race for Opportunity scheme will assist the Scottish Executive in achieving those long-term outcomes given in my previous answer.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Equal Pay

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with (a) COSLA and (b) individual local authorities in respect of their obligations and progress in achieving equal pay and what the outcome has been of any such discussions.

Mr Tom McCabe: The implementation of the Single Status Pay Agreement by local authorities has been raised in discussion between the Executive and COSLA and also between the Executive and a number of individual local authorities. However the position remains that the pay and conditions of local government staff are matters for local authorities.

Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what adjustments were made to the Scottish budget as a result of its agreement with HM Treasury, referred to in Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly , for each year of its operation and what policy decisions resulted in each adjustment.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive’s spending plans are published following our internal Spending Review process. The plans for 2005-06 through 2007-08 were set out in Building a Better Scotland: Enterprise, Opportunity & Fairness , published in September 2004. These spending plans include the allocation of additional funding to the Scottish Block received as a result of our agreement on funding policy with HM Treasury.

Finance

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what balance of the Scottish Consolidated Fund was held in the office of HM Paymaster General at the end of each month since July 1999.

Mr Tom McCabe: The full balance of the Scottish Consolidated Fund is held within HM Office of Paymaster General.

  The balance on the account at the end of each month is shown in the following table:

  Scottish Consolidated Fund, Month End Balances July 1999 to October 2005

  

 
1999-2000
(£ Million)
2000-01
(£ Million)
2001-02
(£ Million)
2002-03
(£ Million)
2003-04
(£ Million)
2004-05
(£ Million)
2005-06
(£ Million)


 April
 n/a
 67
 295
 344
 883
 77
 48


 May
 n/a
 67
 295
 349
 884
 53
 60


 June
 n/a
 69
 295
 350
 883
 72
 74


 July
 36
 71
 298
 351
 875
 78
 73


 August
 47
 74
 299
 351
 889
 85
 77


 September
 40
 76
 307
 353
 885
 85
 94


 October
 27
 78
 308
 354
 302
 91
 102


 November
 93
 85
 316
 370
 315
 91
 -


 December
 93
 88
 318
 389
 332
 115
 -


 January
 89
 89
 325
 436
 235
 121
 -


 February
 98
 98
 349
 986
 236
 135
 -


 March
 296
 296
 333
 880
 53
 61
 -



  The balance on the General Reserve of the Scottish Consolidated Fund does not necessarily represent an amount available for appropriation by a Budget Act or other means as there may be sums due to the Scottish Executive or other funded bodies and/or sums due to the Department of Constitutional Affairs for onward transmission to the UK Consolidated Fund.

  During 2003-04 the Executive took action to reduce the significant balance that was in the account at the end of financial year 2002-03. Action taken has resulted in £818 million of the balance on the account at the 31 March 2003 being utilised by the bodies directly funded by the Fund, through a reduction in the sum drawn down from the Department of Constitutional Affairs.

Food

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of food consumed in Scotland was (a) home grown and (b) imported in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Ross Finnie: Figures available for 2004 estimate that 63% of the food consumed in the UK was home grown, indicating that 37% of food consumed in the UK was imported. Separate figures are not available for Scotland.

H5N1 Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many excess winter deaths have been attributable to influenza in each year since 1999, broken down (a) by NHS board area and (b) into people aged (i) 60 to 74, (ii) 75 to 84 and (iii) 85 and over.

Mr Andy Kerr: The numbers of deaths registered in the winter months (December to March) where influenza is recorded as the underlying cause of death are shown in the following table.

  Because of the small numbers involved NHS board and age breakdowns have not been provided.

  Deaths Registered with Influenza1 as the Underlying Cause

  

 
 1999-2000
 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04


 December to March
 142
 5
 5
 2
 5



  Note: 1. 1999 data ICD9 code 487. 2000-2004 data ICD10 codes J10 and J11.

H5N1 Influenza

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will issue a policy statement on the spread of avian influenza and the measures it is taking to control the infection, including information on which categories of birds are included in, or excluded from, any restrictions designed to prevent the spread of avian influenza.

Ross Finnie: I made a statement to the Scottish Parliament on 2 November 2005 which outlined the current global disease situation and the potential risks to Scotland. Whilst the risk of immediate introduction of avian influenza from migrating wildfowl is judged to be low, we continue to work with industry and other stakeholders to minimise the risk of disease spread.

  As a consequence of an EU-wide ban on bird gatherings such events have been cancelled unless licensed on the basis of a veterinary risk assessment. We have started to license low-risk events and are considering how others can go ahead under appropriate biosecurity guidance. The full veterinary risk assessment process for such events is currently being developed to allow as many events as possible to go ahead subject to a proportionate level of risk.

  The ban on gatherings is being kept under review by the European Commission’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital accident and emergency units there have been in each year since 1995.

Mr Andy Kerr: The information specifically requested is not available. The number of NHS locations recorded as providing an accident and emergency service for each financial year is shown in the table. The list includes services which are provided other than on a 24-hour, seven-day basis, and services provided by a range of clinical staff including GPs and nurses. It also includes other units such as those dealing with minor injuries and community casualties. This wide range of provision enables effective services to be offered which are tailored to delivering good patient outcomes.

  The reduction in sites providing accident and emergency services reflects the work by boards’ to provide high quality services from well-equipped premises, meeting our goals for safe, sustainable services provided as locally as possible.

  

 1995
 103


 1996
 100


 1997
 103


 1998
 98


 1999
 97


 2000
 96


 2001
 97


 2002
 97


 2003
 95


 2004
 96


 2005
 95



  Source: ISD(S)1.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cottage hospitals have (a) opened and (b) closed in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The term "cottage hospital" is not a recognised data definition and consequently this information is not available in the form requested. However, information is available about community hospitals, under which heading "cottage hospitals" would be expected to fall. Community hospitals which have opened and closed since 1997 are as follows.

  

 Name of Hospital
 Opened/Closed
 Date


Eastbank Hospital Largely services for the elderly: transferred in part to the Ninian Ward in the Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall, and in part to social services care
 Closed
 02-04-2000


East Ayrshire Community HospitalReplaced the Ballochmyle Hospital
 Opened
 07-08-2000


Daliburgh HospitalReplaced by the Uists and Barra Hospital, Balivanich
 Closed
 09-03-2001


Lochmaddy HospitalReplaced by the Uists and Barra Hospital, Balivanich
 Closed
 09-03-2001


Kincardine O’Neil War Memorial HospitalServices provided from Aboyne and Glen O’Dee Hospitals, at Banchory.
 Closed
 01-05-2003

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS appointments have been missed in each year since 1997 and at what cost to the NHS.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information is available centrally in respect of patients failing to attend first appointments at consultant-led out-patient clinics. Information on patients who miss appointments for other NHS services such as at local family doctor practices is not collected centrally.

  The table gives the number of missed first out-patient appointments in each year since 1997-98. The average cost of a first out-patient appointment in 2003-04 was approximately £80 but the costs of missed appointments are dependent on too many variables to be able to make meaningful estimates.

  The cost to the NHS of missed appointments will vary depending on the circumstances of the appointment. For example, hospitals may anticipate, in scheduling out-patient clinics, that a proportion of patients will miss their appointments. On that basis, the hospital may decide to overbook appointments at clinics. If all patients attend, the clinic may overrun, with inconvenience to patients seen at the end of the clinic and to staff.

  Overall, NHS patients who fail to keep appointments increase costs for the NHS and deprive others of the opportunity for good service by wasting the time of clinicians and supporting staff.

  

 Year Ending
 Patients Who Did not Attend their First Out-Patient Appointment


 31 March 1998
 153,794


 31 March 1999
 156,766


 31 March 2000
 162,540


 31 March 2001
 158,986


 31 March 2002
 167,135


 31 March 2003
 169,435


 31 March 2004
 164,063


 31 March 2005
 152,400



  Sources: ISD Scotland: SMR00 (Scottish out-patient records), Scottish Health Service Costs (Costs Book).

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement in Building a Health Service Fit for the Future: A guide for the NHS that the greatest need of many older people in the community is "to be kept an eye on", what this means and how it will be achieved.

Lewis Macdonald: The statement is in the context of developments in information and communication technology (telecare) that allow alarm systems and other devices to be monitored remotely.

  Being kept an eye on means that older people want to be reassured that if they fall, the alarm will be raised quickly; that if they do not get up in the morning, someone knows; or that if someone with dementia wanders in the night, they are reminded to go back to bed.

  Use of telecare is evolving rapidly and allows, for example, non-intrusive monitoring of whether an individual has got up in the morning, or has fallen, or has had a flood in the kitchen or bathroom. It can be used to remind people to take medicine, and allows remote blood monitoring for diabetes sufferers. These developments are happening now, and are driven by user’s needs, technology as new devices are developed, and provision of monitoring/call centres that respond to alarms or information transmitted.

Health

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the standard policy is for the provision of aids and adaptations for older people.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is committed to ensuring that people remain at home and retain as much independence as possible. The provision of flexible person-centred care packages that include equipment and adaptations delivered through a modern community care structure is the best way to achieve this.

  Legislation and guidance on the provision of equipment and adaptations is summarised in Using the Law to Develop and Improve Equipment and Adaptation Provision published by the Scottish Executive in 2003.

  It is a matter for individual local partnerships to decide how resources should best be deployed to meet local needs and priorities, consistent with their statutory functions and with government policy.

Housing

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-19573 and S2W-19572 by Malcolm Chisholm on 17 and 19 October 2005, how many new homes will be approved under the Homestake shared equity scheme in the Perth and Kinross Council area in 2005-06 and 2007-08.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The following Homestake projects are planned in the Perth and Kinross Council area.

  2005-06:

  Forty-six units by Perthshire Housing Association in Perth

  Two units by Perthshire Housing Association in Old Struan

  Total – 48 units.

  2006-07:

  Twenty-five units by Perthshire Housing Association – site to be designated

  eleven units by Perthshire Housing Association in Highland Perthshire

  eleven units by Perthshire Housing Association in Bridge of Earn.

  Total – 47 units.

  Other parts of the Perth and Kinross Council area are likely to benefit from the scheme when new development opportunities arise.

Marches

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sectarian, (b) Orange Order and (c) republican marches have been held in each local authority area annually since 1997, showing the (a) number of arrests at, and (b) cost of policing, the marches.

Cathy Jamieson: These figures are not held centrally. Sir John Orr’s report of the Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland was published in January and included recommendations on maintaining records on the number of processions held and associated policing costs. We are currently working with local government and police bodies to see how we can best implement these recommendations.

Mental Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospital consultants suffered from mental health problems in each year since 1997.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not data that the Scottish Executive collects.

Mental Health

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many juveniles with mental health problems have been imprisoned in (a) non-secure and (b) secure psychiatric units in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. However, the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland is notified of detentions under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 and may be able to provide some information in relation to this query. They may be contacted at:

  The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland K Floor Argyle House 3 Lady Lawson Street Edinburgh EH3 9SH

  Telephone: 0131 222 6111.

Multiple Sclerosis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland in relation to delivering a clinical guideline based on National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of multiple sclerosis.

Mr Andy Kerr: The NHS in Scotland should take account of all relevant evidence, including National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines in their area when planning and delivering services.

  NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) has set up a group to consider the current provision of services to those affected by neurological conditions and identify key issues in the delivery of these services. This will recommend a programme of work for NHS QIS on provision of services to those affected by neurological conditions.

Myalgic Encephalopathy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it estimates that myalgic encephalopathy costs the economy.

Lewis Macdonald: Such an estimate is not available. The full costs of any chronic condition vary significantly between individuals affected.

Myalgic Encephalopathy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it has allocated to early detection of myalgic encephalopathy (ME).

Lewis Macdonald: NHS boards are given unified budgets, increased by an average of 7.6% in the current financial year, from which they are expected to meet the costs of diagnosis and treatment for people with ME and all other chronic conditions. It is for NHS boards to decide how their unified budgets should be distributed based on their assessments of local needs.

Myalgic Encephalopathy

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is offered to sufferers of myalgic encephalopathy.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for planning and delivery of support services for people with myalgic encephalopathy rests with NHS boards in consultation with social services departments.

NHS Staff

Mrs Margaret Ewing (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Scotland employs a greater or lesser proportion of health promotion staff than England.

Mr Andy Kerr: Information on the proportion of health promotion staff in NHS Scotland is shown in the table. The latest available data is at 30 September 2004*.

  

 
 Headcount
Whole-Time Equivalent(WTE)
 Total Staff Employed in NHS Scotland
 Percentage of Staff Employed in Health Promotion


 Total Health Promotion Staff
 649
 556.9
 149,856
 0.4%



  Note: *NHSScotland Workforce Statistics, Health Promotion Staff in NHS Scotland, Headcount and WTE at 30 September 2004.

  In England specialised health promotion staff are mainly employed by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs). For England information on the numbers of health promotion staff in the NHS in England is shown in the following table. (This is based on a response rate of 88% to a survey of the health promotion workforce in PCTs which was carried out in September 2004).

  

 
 Headcount
Whole-Time Equivalent(WTE)
 Total Staff Employed in the NHS in England*
 Percentage of Staff Employed in Health Promotion


 Total Health Promotion Staff
 2,301
 1,877.5
 1,331,857
 0.17%



  Note: *Staff in the NHS 2004, An Overview of Staff Numbers within the NHS in 2004, Prepared by the Government Statistical service

NHS Waiting Lists

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time has been for a hearing assessment appointment in the NHS Argyll and Clyde area and how many people have been on the waiting list in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on NHS waiting times and lists is collected centrally only for first out-patient appointments at consultant-led clinics, following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, at specialty level only, and for in-patient and day case treatment. Audiology services are in the specialty of ear, nose and throat (ENT), and hearing tests will normally be conducted in an out-patient setting by an audiologist.

  The Executive is committed to modernising and improving audiology services across NHSScotland. We are investing almost £20 million over the five year period 2002-03 to 2006-07 to ensure NHS boards are equipped with the necessary facilities, equipment, staff and hearing aids to provide a modernised service.

  The Executive is currently setting up a mechanism for gathering information from Audiology Departments and it is proposed that this information, which will include waiting times, will be published when the process has been established.

NHS Waiting Lists

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time has been for a hearing assessment appointment in each NHS board area and how many people have been on the waiting list in each year since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is not available centrally. Information on NHS waiting times and lists is collected centrally only for first out-patient appointments at consultant-led clinics, following referral by a general medical or dental practitioner, at specialty level only, and for in-patient and day case treatment. Audiology services are in the specialty of ear, nose and throat (ENT), and hearing tests will normally be conducted in an out-patient setting by an audiologist.

  The Executive is committed to modernising and improving audiology services across NHSScotland. We are investing almost £20 million over the five year period 2002-03 to 2006-07 to ensure NHS boards are equipped with the necessary facilities, equipment, staff and hearing aids to provide a modernised service.

  The Executive is currently setting up a mechanism for gathering information from Audiology Departments and it is proposed that this information, which will include waiting times, will be published when the process has been established.

National Health Service

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the statement in National Framework for Service Change in the NHS that care of older people is the central responsibility of NHS Scotland, how this is being put into effect.

Lewis Macdonald: Care of Older People as the central responsibility of NHS Scotland was first set out in the Adding Life to Years Report 2002 . There have been significant developments since its publication. However, Delivering for Health (Bib. number 37847), the Scottish Executive’s response to the Kerr Report Building a Health Service Fit for The Future (Bib. number 36608), makes it clear that we now expect NHS boards and regional planning groups to use the Kerr Report to drive their service improvement. The document contains timelines which set out the actions we now expect from constituent parts of the NHS by particular dates.

  The Health Department’s new delivery group will monitor the full sets of commitments made in Delivering for Health and will publish progress.

Prescription Charges

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how many MSPs currently qualify for free NHS prescriptions.

Lewis Macdonald: Patient-specific information about NHS prescription charge exemption status is not held centrally.

Prison Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 15-year-olds were held in prison in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of individuals aged 15 who were held in a Scottish penal establishment in each of the last five years is given in the following table:

  

 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 11
 20
 21
 17
 14

Prison Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 14-year-olds were held in prison in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of individuals aged 14 who were held in a Scottish penal establishment in each of the last five years is given in the following table:

  

 2000-01
 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05


 4
 2
 2
 6
 4

Prison Service

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any child under 14 has been held in prison in the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No child aged under 14 has been held in prison in the last five years.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many available places there are in open prisons.

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the overall capacity is of open prisons and what the individual capacity is of each open prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There are 431 available places in the Open Estate, comprising 296 places at HM Prison Castle Huntly and 135 places at HM Prison Noranside.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive where the locations are of all open prisons.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  HM Prison Noranside and HM Prison Castle Huntly.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to increase the number of open prison places.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Following construction of new prisoner accommodation at HM Prison Castle Huntly in August 2005, the number of open prison places has increased by 141. SPS has no current plans to increase the design capacity of the open estate.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prisoners currently incarcerated should be in an open prison but are not and where they are currently located.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The number of prisoners eligible for consideration for open conditions changes on a daily basis. On 9 November 2005, 66 prisoners were eligible and were in the following prisons awaiting transfer to the open estate.

  

 Establishment
 Numbers


 Shotts
 13


 Kilmarnock
 13


 Perth
 10


 Greenock
 10


 Glenochil
 20

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the assessment criteria are for a prisoner to become entitled to be transferred to an open prison during their sentence.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  In order to qualify for consideration for transfer to an open prison, an assessment is made against the following criteria:

  Proportion of sentence served;

  Current supervision level;

  Progress in addressing identified high needs related to offending behaviour;

  Conduct and behaviour;

  Risk of abscond;

  Current status in relation to addictions, and

  Assessment of risk of self-harm.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the prison population (a) is currently and (b) should be held in an open prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  (a) As at 9 November 2005, 5.5% of the prison population was held in open conditions.

  (b) There is no set percentage of prisoners who should be in open prison. The daily population fluctuates, as does the number of prisoners who become eligible for consideration.

Public Private Partnerships

Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has allocated towards the funding of local authority PPP projects in total and broken down by project; how many local authority PPP projects have subsequently been referred for Executive consideration, broken down by project; how many local authority PPP projects have been agreed by the Executive, broken down by project, and whether the Executive's involvement in determining what method of development to support, providing funding towards local authority PPP projects and agreeing which projects can proceed could give rise to any conflict of interest.

Mr Tom McCabe: The funding allocated by the Scottish Executive towards local authority PPP projects is shown in the following table. The figures represent the amount of financial support provided (or to be provided) by the Executive for these projects annually, and does not include any additional funding provided by the local authorities themselves.

  The funding represents a capped annual figure and this has been (or will be) awarded for the length of the PPP contract which in most cases is 25 to 30 years. Executive funding has been confirmed in those projects marked "operational" or "at financial close" in the last column.

  Further details on these projects and other PPP projects in Scotland can be found on the Financial Partnerships Unit’s website www.scotland.gov.uk/ppp.

  

 Project by Local Authority
Level Playing Field Support/Revenue Support(£ Million per Annum)
 Status of Project


 Falkirk schools PPP1
 8.64
 Operational


 Fife schools PPP1
 3.68
 Operational


 City of Glasgow schools PPP
 14.673
 Operational


 Aberdeenshire schools PPP1
 1.4
 Operational


 Stirling schools PPP1 (Balfron)
 1.59
 Operational


 City of Edinburgh schools PPP1
 6.62
 Operational


 Highland schools PPP1
 1.55
 Operational


 East Renfrewshire schools PPP1
 1.25
 Operational


 Midlothian schools PPP1
 3.116
 Operational


 West Lothian schools PPP1
 1.916
 Operational


 Dumfries and Galloway waste management PPP
 1.27
 Operational


 City of Dundee waste to energy PPP
 2.319
 Operational


 Argyll and Bute waste management PPP
 1.29
 Operational


 Perth and Kinross office accommodation PPP
 1.405
 Operational


 Moray integrated education management service PPP
 0.979
 Operational


 Highland IT services PPP
 1.4
 Operational


 East Renfrewshire M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital
 3.735
 Operational


 Angus A92 PPP
 3.4
 Operational


 East Lothian schools PPP
 2.95
 Operational


 East Renfrewshire schools PPP2
 3.77
 At Financial Close


 Renfrewshire schools PPP
 7.54
 At Financial Close


 Aberdeenshire schools PPP2
 3.4
 At Financial Close


 Argyll and Bute schools PPP
 5.73
 At Financial Close


 North Lanarkshire schools PPP
 10.74
 At Financial Close


 East Ayrshire schools PPP
 4.3
 Conditional Offer


 North Ayrshire schools PPP
 5.72
 Conditional Offer


 Midlothian schools PPP2
 3.58
 Conditional Offer


 Falkirk schools PPP2
 5.00
 Conditional Offer


 Perth and Kinross schools PPP
 7.15
 Conditional Offer


 Fife schools PPP2
 4.0
 Conditional Offer


 City of Dundee schools PPP
 5.73
 Conditional Offer


 Clackmannanshire schools PPP
 3.43
 Conditional Offer


 City of Edinburgh schools PPP2
 12.87
 Conditional Offer


 Angus schools PPP
 3.58
 Conditional Offer


 City of Aberdeen schools PPP
 5.72
 Conditional Offer


 East Dunbartonshire schools PPP
 7.15
 Indicative Offer


 Highland schools PPP2
 7.16
 Conditional Offer


 Stirling schools PPP2
 4.29
 Conditional Offer


 West Lothian schools PPP2
 3.58
 Conditional Offer


 South Lanarkshire schools PPP
 10.74
 Conditional Offer


 South Ayrshire schools PPP
 4.3
 Conditional Offer


 Scottish Borders schools PPP
 3.58
 Conditional Offer


 Eilean Siar schools PPP
 3.43
 Indicative Offer


 Dumfries and Galloway schools PPP
 7.16
 Conditional Offer


 Inverclyde schools PPP
 5.73
 Conditional Offer


 West Dunbartonshire schools PPP
 7.15
 Indicative Offer


 Moray schools PPP
 3.58
 Conditional Offer


 Total
 223.293
 



  There have been two funding rounds for Executive support for local authority PPP projects. The first invited bids from local authorities for priority projects under Finance Circulars 2/1998 and 5/1998; the second for schools projects under Scottish Executive Education Department Circular 8/2001. The successful local authority projects from these rounds are shown in the above table. In both of the funding rounds the bids received were assessed against criteria already agreed by an evaluation panel. There are currently no other funding rounds for Executive support for local authority PPP projects.

Regulation of Care

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was made available to each local authority to assist private residential homes to train staff to achieve Scottish Vocational Qualification standard certification in each year since 1999.

Robert Brown: The funding that local authorities make available to assist private residential homes to train staff to achieve Scottish Vocational Qualification standard is not held centrally.

Residential Care

Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have entered into a deferred payment agreement in order to avoid selling their home to meet care home fees in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Lewis Macdonald: Deferred Payment Agreements (DPAs) were introduced in July 2002 under the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. The Scottish Executive surveyed local authorities in 2003 and 2004 on the numbers of DPAs in place. I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-6217 on 9 March 2004, and S2W-12177 on 25 November 2004.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  In December 2004, the Executive issued strengthened guidance to local authorities on deferred payments and other similar funding arrangements which allow care home residents to delay selling their homes. A follow up survey is planned for 2006.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money, not yet allocated to public expenditure programmes, is currently held by HM Treasury on behalf of the Executive.

Mr Tom McCabe: £220 million that has not yet been allocated to portfolios or public expenditure programmes is currently held by HM Treasury on behalf of the Executive. This figure excludes the resources required to fund the announced reduction in business rates in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

  This money will be required for a list of known and potential pressures that the Executive may face over the remainder of the current spending review period.

Scottish Executive Staff

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20077 by Mr Tom McCabe on 9 November 2005, how many additional permanent jobs in its core departments there were in each of the listed local authority areas between April 2000 and October 2005.

Mr Tom McCabe: The number of additional permanent jobs (full-time equivalent, rounded to the nearest whole number) in Scottish Executive core departments between April 2000 and October 2005 is listed as follows by local authority area.

  

 (a) Urban*


 City Of Edinburgh
 371


 East Lothian
 3


 Falkirk
 35


 Glasgow City 
 89


 South Lanarkshire 
 20


 (b) Rural


 Aberdeenshire
 3


 Argyll and Bute
 4


 Eilean Siar
 1


 Moray
 3


 Perth and Kinross
 10


 Scottish Borders
 5


 Shetland
 3



  Note: *Council areas with a population density of one or more persons per hectare (at the 2001 Census) are defined as urban.

Scottish Executive Staff

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources, services, support or other benefits are available to Inverness and Stirling, as cities, which are not equally available to the cities of Paisley, Ayr, Dumfries and Perth.

Mr Tom McCabe: A mix of private and public resources, services, support and other benefits are available to all communities across Scotland, including cities. Comprehensive information on the make-up of this mix is not held centrally.

Sport

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide more information on the comments made by the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport to the Enterprise and Culture Committee on 1 November 2005 in relation to the separation of responsibilities for sports promotion and involvement between the Executive and local authorities ( Official Report c. 2310).

Patricia Ferguson: The Executive is fully committed to playing its part in delivering the targets set out in Sport 21. We cannot do that alone and all partners involved including local authorities, who are by far the biggest provider of sporting opportunities in Scotland, must play their part. Sport 21 was developed with the full support of the Scottish Executive, local authorities, sports governing bodies and other partners who all accepted their responsibilities in securing its objectives. The partners commitment and specific roles and responsibilities are set out in the Sport 21 target strategies which can be found on  sportscotland’s website at www.sportscotland.org.uk . The Scottish Executive has demonstrated its contribution towards the delivery of Sport 21 targets by working with local authorities on the development of Active Schools. With £24 million invested to date, this programme is delivering a wide range of opportunities aimed at stimulating an interest and commitment to sport and increased levels of physical activity in and around the school day. Active Schools provides local authorities with an excellent foundation at grass roots level on which to build. With the review of Sport 21 due, it is now appropriate to consider how each partner can further secure their contribution towards the delivery of Sport 21’s aims.

Voluntary Sector

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being given to extending protection to volunteers to give them some of the rights of employees in difficult situations with voluntary sector management.

Malcolm Chisholm: Through its Volunteering Strategy the Scottish Executive is committed promoting higher standards of volunteer management in both the public and voluntary sectors to improve the experience of volunteers. The protection of volunteers continues to be a priority, however, the Scottish Executive would not want to take action which could blur the distinction between volunteer and employee.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many freedom of information requests have been made of the Allowances Office since the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 came into force.

Duncan McNeil: From 1 January 2005 to 17 November 2005, there have been 101 requests made of the Allowances Office.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how many person hours have been spent by the Allowances Office in dealing with requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Duncan McNeil: From 1 January 2005 to 17 November 2005, 1,044.5 hours have been spent by the Allowances Office in dealing with requests under the act.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body how much overtime has been used by the Allowances Office in dealing with requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Duncan McNeil: From 1 January 2005 to the end of September 2005, the overtime worked in the Allowances Office is 264 hours and 15 minutes.

Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body what the total cost has been to the Allowances Office of dealing with requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

Duncan McNeil: From 1 January 2005 to 17 November 2005, the cost of the Allowances Office dealing with requests under the Act is £20,890.